Books

First complete edition in Spanish of the first volume of Das Kapital; rare in commerce, with no copies recorded at auction by Rare Book Hub or ABPC. An Argentinean physician turned radical, Justo was the founder of the Argentine Socialist Workers Party, and active member of the International. He first translated Das Kapital from the fourth German edition of 1890, the last to be edited by Engels. His translation was preceded in Spanish only by the abridged translation of Pablo Correa y Zafrilla, published in 1886-7 in the newspaper La República, which was taken from Joseph Roy's French translation, published 1872-75. Justo's translation presented the full text of the volume for the first time. "The author of perhaps the work's best translation to Spanish to date, Pedro Scaron, has pointed out Justo's pioneering importance, not so much for his style but for his fidelity to the original and 'for the security with which he faced problems in the solution which linguistic knowledge is necessary but not sufficient'" (Braun, p. 572). The second and third volumes of Das Kapital did not appear in Spanish until Manuel Pedroso's translation, published in 1931. Octavo (240 x 156 mm). Contemporary purple half sheep, purple pebble-grain cloth sides, spine lettered in gilt, later printed marbled endpapers. Housed in a red quarter morocco solander box by the Chelsea Bindery. Photographic portrait of Marx following title page. Library stamps of "Legislación Española" to half-title, and of "Instituto de Reformas Sociales" to half-title, title, portrait, and 14 text pages, shelf mark stamps to half-title verso and title, minor ink annotations to pp. 22-3 and 26. Slight loss to spine lettering, light rubbing at extremities, contents toned, lower portion of pp. 11-12 supplied in skilful facsimile, small chip at top fore corner of pp. 91-2, slight paper reinforcement at extremities of last 2 leaves, still a good copy. Not in Rubel. Carlos Rodríguez Braun, "Early Liberal Socialism in Latin America: Juan B. Justo and the Argentine Socialist Party", The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Vol. 67, No. 4, 2008.

"Das Kapital," written by Karl Marx, is a seminal work critiquing the capitalist system's foundations and mechanisms. Published in 1867, this extensive analysis of capitalism delves into its economic processes, the exploitation inherent within, and its eventual contradictions which Marx believed would lead to its downfall. Marx introduces key concepts such as commodity, value, surplus value, and the labor theory of value, arguing that the value of a commodity is determined by the labor required for its production. He criticizes how capitalists profit by exploiting workers, paying them less than the value of their labor while selling the products for their full value. Marx's critique extends to the dynamics of capital accumulation, technological advancements, and their effects on the proletariat, predicting increasing capital centralization and crises stemming from capitalism's internal contradictions. "Das Kapital" covers the circulation and distribution of capital, explaining how surplus value is divided among different classes and sectors, leading to cycles of boom and bust. Despite its influence, "Das Kapital" has faced criticism for its total failure in economic predictions, such as the underestimation of capitalism's adaptability and the overemphasis on the labor theory of value. Critics argue Marx's predictions of escalating class struggle and the proletariat revolution have not materialized as expected, questioning his views on human nature and the efficiency of market mechanisms. Nonetheless, "Das Kapital" remains a pivotal work in economic and political thought, offering a deep, if wrong, critique of capitalism and its socio-economic impacts.